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Sales for the period rose 34% year over year to $55.7 million and fell just short of the average analyst estimate, but the company's loss for the period actually came in slightly lower than anticipated. Some promising guidance on 2019 performance and upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) projects may also have helped power the big gains after earnings.

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So what

Talend's subscription revenue climbed by 38% year over year to reach $48.4 million in the fourth quarter -- significant because services in this category have high customer retention rates, and these numbers suggest a rising sales floor for the segment.

The company's adjusted per-share loss of $0.13 came in a penny better than the average analyst target -- a welcome beat, but it looks as if the big share price gains last month also had a lot to do with the stock's soggy performance last year. Talend was hit hard in the second half of 2018 due to some mixed earnings reports and sell-offs for the broader market, and it looks like the better-than-expected earnings results in the fourth quarter helped rekindle investor interest in the stock.

Now what

After its big February gains, Talend stock has given up a bit of ground in March, with shares trading down roughly 4.1% in the month so far.

Management expects first-quarter sales to grow roughly 21% year over year to reach $56.5 million. Full-year revenue is expected to come in between $248 million and $250 million -- representing roughly 22% growth at the midpoint. Talend expects its adjusted net loss for 2019 to be between $26.9 million and $28.9 million, accelerating from its 2018 non-GAAP net loss of roughly $15.3 million as the company ramps up spending on cloud infrastructure.